Also kind of an impotent note; I have 6 fics I'm going back and forth between. To decided which to continue first I'm going to factor in reviews, comments, and likes. If this one does end up spanning over three parts it's going to be placed in that pool of fics where likes are a factor.

She remembered seeing him the night after. She remembered taunting him about the ordeal. She remembered very clearly that he told her to leave him alone and she remembered well that he had thought that she was their father coming to check on him before he left. Azula was one of the first people to see the burn mark on his eye, in fact. And days later, she had made a secret journey into the shadier parts of the Capital to see how he was doing. She had told him to change the bandages lest he got an infection. She got a kick out of his misery but she didn't want her brother to die. She knew that it would break her if he did. She knew because it felt awkward and lonely with his chair as empty as their mothers at mealtimes. Her father was often preoccupied with matters concerning their nation so mostly she ate alone. Mostly she studied alone. She did mostly everything alone. So she was left to wonder how Zuko's quest for the avatar was going. Not very well she suspected, it would be a long time before she saw him again. Unless she sought him out anyways. She thought of doing so on many occasions but, recalled that Iroh had acquired them a ship. It was curious, but unsurprising all at once that her uncle was so will to leave his luxurious lifestyle to accompany Zuko.

So she was alone with her father until he called her to find Iroh...which meant she would be chasing Zuko. She thought it odd though that he only mentioned Iroh. Iroh the fugitive traitor who had tried to assassinate Ozai for some reason or another. No wonder he had taken off with Zu-Zu. Zu-Zu who wasn't spoken of at all, even though he was with Iroh. It might have been a good thing that their father didn't hate Zuko enough to have her hunt him down. But she would do it anyways, it had been far too long since she'd given him a good mocking and this would be the perfect opportunity.

She found them in a resort on the Su Oku River, a lovely place, she had to admit. She noted to herself that she would return one day if she ever got some down time. A few days of searching and interrogating lead her to a teeny rental house in the surrounding village. They of course, weren't there when she arrived. She fretted that they may have vacated already, but she couldn't see Uncle Iroh leaving behind the pearly shells he had collected. So she made herself cozy, reclining in the nearest chair and inspecting each shell. How drab, she thought, poor Zu-Zu must be going out of his mind. The little things like seashells and talks on the beach held as little appeal to him as they did to her, maybe even less appeal. She'd give him something to think about. From wide open windows came a fluttering breeze that took to lifting her hair. She supposed that it was pleasant enough to keep her company until the door fell ajar. "Hello, brother. Uncle."

Azula didn't expect any warmth from Iroh, he never seemed all that fond of her, most people weren't. But Zuko, he was a display of clashing emotions. A sprinkle of anger, a touch of hope, and a whole lot of fear. The princess smirked. Without so much as a greeting he questioned her sudden re-appearance in his life. "In my country, we exchange a pleasant hello before asking questions, have you become uncivilized so soon, Zuzu?" She got to her feet, pacing leisurely towards him.

Iroh narrowed his eyes in confusion. He had a question for her, but whatever it was it when unvocalized. Instead he asked, "To what do we owe this honor?"

It was vexing really, how they had no desire for small talk. She accented her irritation by snapping one of Iroh's shells, she could see his lip twitch in irritation, though he didn't speak up. Even if he wanted to she was already weaving her lie together; a pretty tale about assassination plots and Ozai wanting to be with his family. To Zuko she added, "Father regrets your banishment. He wants you home." He didn't give her the joyous reaction she had hoped for, something that filled her with pangs of annoyance. "Did you hear me? You should be happy. Excited, grateful, I just gave you great news."

Again Iroh looks at her as though he want to tell her something. "Your brother is…" he starts.

But she isn't talking to him. "Don't interrupt, Uncle!" She snapped. He always liked to cut in whenever she tried to talk to her brother. Her brother who still hadn't acknowledged her offer, however false it was. "I still haven't heard my thank you, I'm not a messenger. I didn't have to come all this way..." she trailed off.

Zuko muttered something, such and such about how he couldn't believe it. Iroh stood behind her, his face twisted in fear. It didn't matter, she had said her piece and now all she had to do was wait. "I can see you need time to take this in. I'll come to call on you tomorrow. Good evening."

But they never showed and they had cleared out by the time she had made her way back to the resort village. Scowling to herself, she chided herself on letting them evade her so swiftly. It was odd, Zu-Zu usually ate that kind of praise right up. Now she would have to address the village and put out a watch. Her father wouldn't be pleased. After many days of tracking she let Lo and Li convince her that it would be well to get an extra hand or two and replace the royal procession. She wasn't at all opposed to reuniting with Mai and TyLee, surly they would put some of her boredom at ease. Attaining TyLee's hand was easy enough—the girl could take a hint. Mai though, was nearly more trouble than she was worth. But she had ended up leading Azula right to the Avatar, so that hostage situation had its pay off. She had a choice then, who she wanted to seek out more—her brother or the Avatar. The Avatar of course, was her brother's goal. If she captured him, Zu-Zu may very well come crawling out to her. And so she pursued, finding out that—for an airbender—this Avatar wasn't so stealthy. His bison was leaving her a fine trail, one that lead her to a ghost town. A fine place for a show down really, it was a shame that Zu-Zu couldn't be there.

"All right, you've caught up with me. Now, who are you and what do you want?"

"You mean you haven't guessed? You don't see the family resemblance? Here's a hint." She held her hand up to her eye, and in her best Zuko voice spoke, "I must find the Avatar to restore my honor!" The joke seemed completely lost on him. It was as if he hadn't heard Zuko bellow something of the sort before. "It's okay, you can laugh. It's funny."

He squinted at her, "maybe if I knew your brother." He replied.

It was her turn to narrow her eyes. Zuko's quest must be going worse than she thought if the Avatar didn't even know of him yet. It was so typically embarrassing of little Zu-Zu.

"So now what?" The Avatar inquired.

"Now? Now, it's over, you're tired and you have no place to go. You can run, but I'll catch you." She stated and she would. She would have him before the night was out. To her luck he declared that he wouldn't be running. All the easier, she thought. "Do you really want to fight me?"

The timing was so perfect; Zuko swooping in and throwing his bamboo hat to the ground. How needlessly dramatic. And he was alone too. She wondered how long he'd been stalking her, waiting to emerge. She also pondered upon the whereabouts of her Uncle and why he wasn't with Zu-Zu. She hadn't much time to dwell on it, the fight was about to get that much more interesting. And yet the Avatar stood more impassively than even she. Had he even acknowledged Zu-Zu's sudden appearance? "I was wondering when you'd show up, Zuzu."

This time the Avatar did laugh. "Zu-Zu?" Somehow Azula felt that he was laughing at her. Not at her jib. No, at she herself. Already she was growing to dislike this boy. This boy who refused to laugh when he was supposed to and chuckled when it was out of place.

"Back off, Azula! He's mine." Zuko scowled. His impulsive temperament had only seemed to grow since she'd last seen him.

Azula's eyes wavered between he and the Avatar. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Clearly." The Avatar muttered.

She held her ground waiting for either to attack. The Avatar seemed to be stuck in the sand, but Zu-Zu didn't disappoint. In one graceless punch of orange flame, the fight was in motion. A blur of blue and orange of dodging and ducking. And the Avatar, he was just standing around like a dolt with his mouth agape.

"This is crazy." He whispered to himself. Over her own fire, his foe, the same girl who'd nearly gotten him in Omashu, didn't hear him. He had to admit, she was putting on an elegant show—he'd never seen flames of that color nor firebending so fast and elegant. Yet it was no show, the girl was truly fighting as if she had an opponent to get the better of. An opponent that wasn't he, himself. He was thankful for it though, it took her attention from him. The girl, though completely out of sorts, was powerful, the sort he didn't want to tangle with. He cursed his luck that she had happened upon him. It would seem that her attention was less divided than he anticipated, for the minute he tried to make his getaway, a jet of blue flames whizzed precariously close. She gave more chase, following him through a maze of crumbling buildings. He'd nearly lost her when dashing into one so deteriorated that it no longer had a roof. She'd almost fallen, but her balance was as frighteningly keen as her bending. It was bizarre, uncanny. How she was so cool and collected and yet she was fighting two people when there was only one person for her to fight.

Azula dropped to the floor. Zu-Zu had given her quite a show, quite literally falling without a scrap of dignity, into the Avatar's trap. That would put him out of the fight for a while. How convenient. Equally so, the Avatar had sprung his own trap. That tiny building looked so very flammable. She decided to give her theory a test and set it ablaze. With a slice of fire she had the boy trapped beneath a heap of debris. With fingers poised to deliver the finishing blow, she gave him a smirk. A smirk that was swiftly cut off by a flow of water around her fingers. The Avatar's companion, the waterbender, had finally made an appearance. The princess scowled, Mai and TyLee must have failed. For that she would be fighting The Avatar, three more of his friends, and Zu-Zu.

Azula pushed her way past the waterbender only to run into the boy, her brother, Azula assumed. And that stupid boomerang. She gave him a good bolt of lightning, enough to get around him. Her victory was short in nature as the ground shifted beneath her feet. The earthbender. And then Iroh. She was being outnumbered, overwhelmed, and cornered. If they caught her then, her mission would be a complete waste. She sighed to herself, twice in a row Iroh and Zu-Zu would be escaping her, a disappointing track record. Even so, she'd make a bigger disgrace of herself if she let them snatch her away. Her best option was to talk her way out of it, to deceive. A few slick words and a carefully placed blow was her best chance. "Well, look at this. Enemies and traitors all working together. I'm done." She lifted her arms, to punctuate this. "I know when I'm beaten, you got me. A princess surrenders with honor." She looked between her foes, sizing up each one with a quickness. Iroh, Iroh was the most opportune target. She lashed out in a lick of fire, relying very heavily on the shock value. When their attentions turned, she made her escape.

Zu-Zu was going to kill her for this one.

.oOo.

Iroh knew then that it had been a mistake to pursue his niece. The waterbender, was generous and seemed to have no qualms about helping a firebender. She might not have been so willing if she knew just who he was. But the earthbender he had talked to, that enduring stranger, had spoken kindly of him. He had offered her tea and advice that he had hoped was taken well. She had run away from home and then from her friends, it reminded him so very much of something Zuko would have done. It tore at his heart to mention him to the girl. As the waterbender worked to alleviate his pain he thought back on the conversation.

"People see me and think I'm weak. They want to take care of me, but I can take care of myself, by myself." The blind girl had said after he offered to pour her a glass of tea.

"You sound like my nephew, always thinking you need to do things on your own, without anyone's support. There is nothing wrong with letting the people who love you help you. Not that I love you, I just met you."

"So where is your nephew?"

"He is dead." He hadn't said it out loud before then. "Killed by his own father."

"So what are you doing out here then, old man?"

"It's a long story." He admitted. "I'm a fugitive to my own nation. I tried to take the life of the man who killed my nephew. And that man sent my niece to bring me to justice."

"And you're hiding from her then?" The girl asked.

"Actually, I've been tracking her."

"Is she lost?"

"Yes, a little bit." He looked up, gazing more at the skyline than at the girl he was conversing with. "Her life has recently changed and she's going through very difficult times. I'm sad to say that I didn't think it would bother her, but it did. The death of my nephew is hurting her too. I don't think that she wants to admit that he's gone…"

The girl seemed confused, "so you're following her?"

"I know she doesn't want me around her right now, or ever. We never got along, but if she needs me, I'll be there."

"Your niece is very lucky, even if he doesn't know it. Thank you."

It was one of the most compelling conversations he'd had with someone he'd met on the road. He was thankful to have her among those helping tend to his injury. He might stay with them for some time before returning to Azula.

Returning to Azula…

He had just told himself that going after her in the first place had been a mistake.

Yet, he wanted to be true to his words that he would be there if Azula managed to get herself into too much trouble.

Even so, the move felt terribly placed. He felt, for one, like it would be taking the healing the waterbender had just done for granted. For another, she was now seeking out the Avatar, by all means she was dangerous. By all means, she was to an extent, an enemy if she was so willing to give the world's last hope over to her father. But Azula was not in a particularly stable place. She had been subjected to the same abuser as her brother. She needed help, a way to get out of the tangle, and he didn't see anyone else reaching out.

So he would extend his hand, just as he would have done for have done for Zuko.